A smaller percentage of children born in 2001 who were in poverty demonstrated proficiency in various cognitive skills at about 2 years old and at about 4 years old than did their peers who were at or above poverty.
Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), this indicator provides information on children when they were infants (at about 9 months old), when they were toddlers (at about 2 years old), and again when they were preschoolers (at about 4 years old). The assessments for 9-month-olds provide information on cognitive skills, including exploration, verbalizations, making simple gestures, and problem solving, and on motor skills, including coordination, sitting, prewalking, standing alone, skillful walking, and balance. The assessments for 2-year-olds provide information on cognitive skills, such as communication, listening comprehension, object discrimination, and knowledge of counting words or quantities; and on motor skills, such as skillful walking, balance, fine motor control, walking up and down stairs, alternating balance, and motor planning. Preschool-age assessments provide information on language, literacy, mathematics, color identification, and fine motor skills.
Nine-month-olds in poverty had lower proficiency levels in three of five cognitive skills, compared with children at or above poverty, although observed differences were less than 4 percentage points. For example, 81 percent of children in poverty were proficient in exploring purposefully, compared with 84 percent of those at or above poverty (see table A-3-1). For motor skills, no measurable differences were found between 9-month-olds in poverty and those at or above poverty.
In contrast to patterns found among 9-month-olds by poverty status, significant differences in all cognitive skills were found for 2-year-olds. For example, 29 percent of 2-year-olds in poverty demonstrated proficiency in listening comprehension, compared with 39 percent of those at or above poverty, and 55 percent of those in poverty were proficient in expressive vocabulary, compared with 67 percent at or above poverty (see table A-3-2). Concerning proficiency in motor skills among 2-year-olds, however, no measurable differences were found by poverty status.
Differences in proficiency in cognitive skills by poverty status observed when children were 2 years old held when they were 4 years old. Twenty percent of 4-year-olds in poverty were proficient in letter recognition, compared with 37 percent of their peers at or above poverty (see table A-3-3). Forty-five percent of 4-year-olds in poverty demonstrated proficiency in numbers and shapes, compared with 72 percent of their peers at or above poverty.
For 9-month-olds, there were few differences in cognitive skill proficiencies for most racial/ethnic groups. While differences were found for motor skills among 9-month-olds by race/ethnicity, no single group demonstrated consistently higher proficiency than others across all skills. In contrast, smaller percentages of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native 2-year-olds demonstrated proficiency in all cognitive skills than did their peers who were White, Asian, or of more than one race. For example, 56 percent of Blacks, 54 percent of Hispanics, and 50 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives used expressive vocabulary, compared with 71 percent of Whites, 62 percent of Asians, and 64 percent of children of more than one race (see table A-3-2). For motor skills among 2-year-olds, few differences were found by race/ethnicity.
Generally, smaller percentages of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native 4-year-olds demonstrated proficiency in various cognitive skills than did their peers who were White, Asian, or of more than one race. For example, 28 percent of Blacks, 23 percent of Hispanics, and 19 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives were proficient at letter recognition, compared with 37 percent of Whites, 49 percent of Asians, and 35 percent of children of more than one race (see table A-3-3). Additionally, smaller percentages of 4-year-old Blacks (55 percent), Hispanics (51 percent), and American Indians/Alaska Natives (40 percent) showed proficiency in numbers and shapes, compared with Whites (73 percent), Asians (81 percent), and children of more than one race (65 percent).
Technical Notes
Percentages presented reflect children who demonstrated mastery or "proficiency" by achieving a set threshold within a subscale measuring specific skills or abilities. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. For more information on race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and poverty, see supplemental note 1. For more information on the ECLS-B, see supplemental note 3.
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